A “significant improvement” is on the way regarding short stay mental health assessment at Guelph General Hospital (GGH) but could still be more than two years away. The number of beds is set to double from four to eight.
The increase is part of a larger emergency department expansion plan, for which more than $15 million in provincial funding was announced last month.
“This is going to be a significant improvement for sure. We think we’ve got the number right,” Melissa Skinner, vice-president of patient services and chief nursing executive at GGH, said of adding beds to the Short Stay Assessment Unit (SSAU). “Part of that first phase will be to expand the number of beds and services provided, which our community so desperately needs.”
The overall emergency department expansion is intended to allow for more emergency mental health services, with improved access to high-quality care for patients and families in Guelph, Wellington and surrounding communities.
Groundbreaking is expected during the summer of 2023 and take up to 18 months before completion.
When someone experiencing a mental health crisis attends GGH, Skinner explained, healthcare providers first seek to rule out medical issues that may be contributing to the situation, followed by a psychiatric assessment done in collaboration with Homewood Health Centre to determine where would be best for the patient to receive treatment.
“Often, it’s not in the middle of a very chaotic, busy, loud, noisy emergency department,” Skinner said, noting patients are moved to the SSAU down the hall. “Patients are cared for there until they can be discharged or admitted to the right facility or potentially follow-up is reached.”
The beds expansion is “based that on the patterns that we have been seeing and the experience we have had,” Skinner noted. “This is going to be significant improvement for sure. We think we’ve got the number right.”
